Iran will completely close the Strait of Hormuz if US President Donald Trump carries out his threat to strike Iranian energy installations, the Iranian joint-arms command said in a statement issued on Sunday, reports AFP and Reuters.
Strait of Hormuz PHOTO: Shutterstock
On Saturday evening, Trump gave Iran an ultimatum to open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, threatening that otherwise the American-Israeli airstrikes will also “destroy” Iran's power plants. Tehran's first response was that the strait is open to all ships except those with ties to “enemies of Iran”, writes Agerpres.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Iranian inter-arms command Khatam al-Anbiya said that if these threats from the US are implemented, the Strait of Hormuz “it will be completely closed and will not reopen until we have rebuilt the destroyed power plants”.
Companies with American shareholders in the region will also be targeted, as well as energy installations in the countries that host American bases, the same press release states.
Iran's president: “Threats and terror only strengthen our unity”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that “threats and terror” strengthen Iranian unity after Donald Trump warned yesterday that he would “destroy“Iranian power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not opened within 48 hours. Pezeshkian said:
“The illusion of wiping Iran off the map shows desperation against the will of a nation that has made history. Threats and terror only strengthen our unity. The Strait of Hormuz is open to all except those who violate our territory. We strongly condemn delusional threats on the battlefield,” writes The Guardian.
Earlier on Sunday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also threatened that Iran would destroy vital infrastructure throughout the region if the US and Israel attacked Iran's energy infrastructure. “As soon as our country's power plants and infrastructure are targeted, vital infrastructure as well as energy and oil infrastructure throughout the region will be considered legitimate targets and will be irreversibly destroyed.”the Iranian official wrote on the X social network.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps has already threatened to strike in the strait any ship with ties to the US, Israel and their supporting countries, while the US is still hesitant to resort to the risky option of military escorting commercial ships crossing this waterway through which about 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade transits, and President Trump has failed to convince the allies to get involved in a military action to secure the strait.
